Crescendo
by Gtimes3
Summary: Summery: Edward had never tried to keep one paticular human alive in the past; but that didn't mean he hadn't made sure one hadn't died. Normal pairings Who would change them? Just a side story I came up with :D
1. Chapter 1

_**Summery: Edward had never tried to keep one paticular human alive in the past; but that didn't mean he hadn't made sure one hadn't died. Normal pairings (Who would change them?) Just a side story I came up with :D**_

_**Chapter Song: Asassin - Muse**_

_**Disclaimer: I always forget these things; but here goes: None of the charecters are 'mine' Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer (Genious? I THINK SO!), and I have taken 'Lottie Collin's daughter' (who is made up - and not her real daughter) and put her into the story because I know Lottie Collins died in 1910; which is where the story is based...other references are made to other famous people and bla di bla...nothing is mine; I'm just playing with it for a while.**_

_**I would also like to make clear that the name Gordon Jacob is absolutly no reference to Jacob from the Twilight Series; I merely picked on him to be in the story because he was a composer who lived through the late 18, and early 1900s.**_

_**Chapter 1: Shadows bite**_

_**London, 1910**_

The girl had no idea how close she had come to death in the last 24 hours. Carlisle's philosophies on not drinking human blood were justified, but it was times like this that Edward glorified in his abilities. Well, not so much glorified in them, not so much as thanked God, or whomever had created vampires, that he had the ability to save the innocent.

This girl had long, curly, brown hair. She was slender, but she was quite short. He wasn't sure from such distances as he had seen her from, but having seen her in the mind's of other humans, he knew she had green eyes. Green eyes that always darted around her surroundings; she looked as though she was trying to end conversations quickly. Many people felt that this was rude; he'd seen it in their minds. He'd seen in hers, however, that she couldn't help it. She was very nervous by nature; a shy girl, she liked to keep herself to herself.

She also had quite a nice sent. If Edward was any normal vampire; he probably would have taken her by now, however, he could not bring himself to harm someone so innocent. The men who had tried to hurt her last night; they were a different story.

He'd been hunting on that night; and he'd seen her face in his head; or so he had thought, he had almost failed in saving her. The man had been out to kill her because of her mother, and it had been the girl's mother that Edward had seen in the man's head. Because of this, he had been looking out for an older woman than this. The girl could only be about eighteen. Her hair was a lot shorter than her mother's, her clothes far more conservative, her eyes a different shade, and the way she held herself was far, far less rightous. All he could see in her killer's head, though, was the arrogant woman, whom he wanted his revenge on.

The man, he heard in his thoughts, had already killed the girl's mother, not that anyone else had known; after he had killed the girl, he would disapear. No one would ever know what had happened.

_No one, _thought Edward, _exept me._

At the last minute, he had realised which girl was going to be killed by this man, and thankfully he was apt enough in his abilities to take the man out before he got the chance to rip the girl to threads. He hadn't even seen her. It was close; but he had succeeded.

He was watching her now, she was wondering through the snow covered streets early in the morning. He knew from her mind that she was headed to the town hall; she was involved in a presentation today; she would be playing a number of piano peices thoughout the day, as her tutor had arranged for her. She was a little scared about the whole ordeal; being so shy. Sometimes she wished she were her mother.

Her mother, Edward had discovered in the mind of her killer the night before, was a woman called Lottie Collins; a famous dancer and musician; someone who was deffinatly not shy in the slightest. It seemed that her daughter did not take after her in this way.

Soon as she had turned the next corner, and there was no one on the street; Edward jumped down from the roof, landing on his feet on the snow covered ground. It was still early yet, and the sun had not appeared on the horison. Not that it would today; there were rain clouds coming in at a great speed. It was going to pour down in about an hour.

He took the same root as the girl had, and turned the corner at the end of the street; watching as she entered the town hall. The sign at the door said that the presentation would start in just a couple of hours, at ten. Now she was in the hall, he had no reason to watch her. He now had nothing to do again.

He decided that he would go and see if he could listen to her practice for the presentation; surely she would be practicing in a room with a window. A window was not as dense as a wall; if she was playing near one, he would surely be able to hear her. His ear was, after all, better than any human's; not just in a musical sense.

A bit of searching rewarded him with the ability to listen to the girl practice; he sat just beneath the window; which was open, even in the cold chill of morning.

He was almost bored as he heard her warm up, going through scales and arpeggios. They had to be the most tiring thing about music; the repetativeness of them always got to him. He prefered music that moved on, developed, and changed. Twists and turns in a peice gave him something to listen for.

She was very thorough in her warm ups; going on for almost half an hour. But when she was finished she paused for a little while; during which he could hear the ruffle of papers; and he assumed she was going through her music.

He was unsurprised when she started playing Debussy; since his Suite Bergamasque had been launched in 1890, he had been a particularly popular composer; especially with the women. His music was sweet, but full. It was beautiful; Debussy was a favorite of Edward's.

He was a little more surprised when she started playing Chopin's peices. It wasn't that he wasn't a good composer; Edward thought he was brilliant; it was just that he was so, well, unknown here. France had glorified in the man's music, he knew so from Carlisle's stories. He assumed, also, that Poland glorified in the man's brilliance; the romantic had brought his country some fame afterall; especially in France. He wondered where the girl had discovered his music.

His interest in her only grew when she started playing music that he had never heard of before. Edward would like to say he was very, very, very, very well learned on all peices musical; especially those which were for piano. Of course, he had more than enough time to go through as much music as possible; he didn't have to sleep after all.

He wondered to himself whether she might have composed the music; but the fact that she was so young...

His suspicians on this subject were confirmed however, when her tutor, he saw in her head, came in to tell her that she should 'most certainly not be playing such music'; she had composed it, apparently her 'tutor' whoever he was, didn't like it. Edward had to wonder who he thought he was. The peice she had been playing before he had entered had been beautiful. It was almost a shame for her to have to revert to her previous peices.

Later in the day, when she moved into the main hall to play for the presentation; Edward moved inside to listen to her play. Luckily, it had rained; during the presentation, it was pouring down outside; he therefore didn't have to disapear as soon as the sun came out.

He looked around the presentation, which happened to be about the People's Budget of 1909, put into place by Lloyd George and the Liberal government. The presentation was, thankfully, about how great it was; if it had been a presentation from the rich about how bad the taxations were, Edward didn't think he would have stayed as long. He had realised in the past how self centered rich people were in this day and age. He and Carlisle were well off; him being a doctor; but they were not rich.

As the day passed by, the girl played through an array of different peices from different composers; Edward particuly enjoyed her rendition of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Beethoven was another popular choice, it seemed.

She was playing a Chopin Nocturne when he approached her. He stood by the piano and watched her play for a long while; she played several peices while he merely stood and took her in. There was nothing particuly interesting about her, for a human. She had a nice scent though, and her talent was apparent.

Her thoughts, he found, delving into her mind, were also rather amusing. She seemed to think that he was waiting for her to make a mistake so that he could laugh at her. He almost laughed at her determination to focus on her playing once she'd thought of this.

Unlike him, she had the disadvantage of having quite short fingers, which changed some of the peices a little; in some places she had to play split chords, which made him smile a little. It sounded brilliant still; you could hardly ruin such peices by playing a couple of extra notes, the right ones as they were, they fit with the peices even if they were played a split second late. It was cute to see how annoyed she grew with this fact though. Her thoughts let him into the fact that she often grew annoyed with her small hands.

Eventually, another man came over; he saw the girl tense as she saw him; quickly focusing once again on the peice she was playing; rather than letting her mind wander over his presence. Her 'tutor' approached Edward with a polite smile, extending his hand to him. Edward was very glad on days like this that gloves were in style.

"Gordon Jacob" the man said, grinning at him, and bowing a little.

"Edward Masen" he replied; recognising the man's name; he was surprised; the man was a composer, but one who focused primerily on orchestral peices; he was sure.

"Pleased to meet you. I noticed you watching Mildred here..."

He looked a bit annoyed to Edward; he was thinking that Edward was looking for errors in his student, and he thought it was rather insulting.

"Yes", he replied carefully, but truly, "I was just taking the time to revel in her talents."

"Ah" the man, Mr Jacob, replied.

"Does she have any compositions of her own?" he carried on, pretending he was blissfully ignorent of the man's embaressed thoughts.

"Yes, of course", he turned to the girl, "Milly dear, you must play this man some of your own peices."

Edward watched as she looked up, a little shocked, finishing the last few chords of Fantasia, her eyes glancing towards Edward for a moment, before they returned to the piano. "Of course tutor", she murmered softly. Something told Edward that she was scared of the man; not that her thoughts acknowledged this.

He watched her play four of her compositions consecutivly; they were beautiful, of course; he had heard the first one she played earlier in the day. He chatted with Gordon Jacob for a little while, before carefully telling the man that he wanted to listen to the peices properly; I.E. without interuption.

By the time she had played the finishing notes of her fourth composition, it was dark outside again, and the rain had ceased. She turned up towards him, to look at his face. "Will that be all sir?" she asked, he read in her thoughts that she wanted to be off home now; she'd had no break for lunch, it was now dinnertime. She was tired and hungry.

"Edward", he replied, "Of course; that'll be all for now".

_**Shall I carry this story on? What do you think? Reviews please? And let me know whether I should continue?**_

_**x x x x**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Summery: Edward had never tried to keep one paticular human alive in the past; but that didn't mean he hadn't made sure one hadn't died. Normal pairings (Who would change them?) Just a side story I came up with :D**_

_**Chapter Song: 18th Floor Balcony - Blue October  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I always forget these things; but here goes: None of the charecters are 'mine' Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer (Genious? I THINK SO!), and I have taken 'Lottie Collin's daughter' (who is made up - and not her real daughter) and put her into the story because I know Lottie Collins died in 1910; which is where the story is based...other references are made to other famous people and bla di bla...nothing is mine; I'm just playing with it for a while.**_

_**I would also like to make clear that the name Gordon Jacob is absolutly no reference to Jacob from the Twilight Series; I merely picked on him to be in the story because he was a composer who lived through the late 18, and early 1900s.**_

_**Chapter 2: Musings  
**_

_**Forks, Present day.**_

The girl's eyes were fluttering slightly, and her breathing was getting quicker; since he had slept with her so many times in the past, he knew this was what happened when Bella Swan woke up. Sure enough, with in moments her eyelids had pealed back to reveal a pair of beautiful swirling brown eyes. She shifted in his arms; her warm body shifting closer, her face turning towards him. She nuzzled gently into his stomach.

"Good morning beautiful", Edward murmered softly, kissing her hair, and letting her scent wash over him - little conselation for the blood he longed for; but there was no other way to satisfy his thirst even just a little. He would never hurt this sweet human. Bella Swan; the most wonderful being in existance: His Bella.

The girl nuzzled even closer, and he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms more tightly around her small form; burying his head in her messy hair; hair that smelled so delicious...

"Mm, Edward", she muttered back in greeting. "What's happening today?"

"Alice", he replied, allowing himself to smile, tightening his grip on her as she attempted to bolt upright; dispite it being about seven in the morning.

She relaxed after a moment and flopped back down. "Do I have to?" she groaned quietly. He allowed himself a chuckle. Bella wasn't the most enthusiastic shopper he had ever met; Alice seemed determined to change this fact. As much as he found his fiance's antics to be amusing, however, he decided he'd better console her at least a little. She still had time to give the ring back; they wern't yet married, and he hadn't, he internally cringed, _changed_ her...yet.

He looked down at her, she was warm in his arms; the heat sinking through her, and his clothes, and sinking through the cold pores of his skin. He listened intently to her heartbeat for a moment, and just lay there, breathing her in. He was going to miss these little things when she became on of...one of his _family._

He sighed softly, pushing her chin up gently to face him with his finger, being careful not to use any sort of strength on the fragile woman. He gazed down in to her eyes, before leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss against her warm lips.

He pulled upwards, before telling her, "I'll meet you in the afternoon, and we'll go book shopping okay?" The smile that graced her lips at these words was beautiful. "Just play nice with Alice okay?"

She scowled for a moment, realising that she would have to be nice during this little shopping excursion. Then she nodded, before pulling herself up and heading towards the door. "Human moment", she whispered, trusting his ears to catch her words. Which they did, of course; vampires have exeptional hearing.

She had only whispered, of course, for Charlie's benefit; she did not want to wake him up - better yet, she definitely did not want to alert him to the fact that Edward was in the house; or had been in the house for the last few nights, and many before that.

She hadn't really needed to whisper, he thought to himself, he could hear Charlie's dreams from here, he was a deep sleeper; Charlie was quite used to her talking in her sleep; talking to Edward first thing in the morning would be no different. Not to mention the fact that Edward could be out the door and down the stairs before Charlie got off the bed, if need be.

Several minutes later Bella had returned; refreshed from a short shower. He pulled her back into his arms, and they sat togeather on the bed for a little while, they whispered quietly for a while, before Bella took him down stairs so that she could grab some breakfast, and prepare herself for the impending shopping trip.

It wasn't too long after that Charlie came down and Edward had to do a disapearing act for a little while, whilst the police cheif ate his breakfast and then went to work, that Alice's thoughts suddenly violated his mind. When Alice was happy, it wasn't just her voice that got louder; her thoughts had the same habit. It wouldn't be so bad if their pitch didn't suddenly get higher. It took him a few moments of concentration to block her out, while he watched Bella scarf down her toast.

He decided to wait until she had finished her breakfast, and juice, before telling her that Alice was almost there. He didn't really take a shine to the idea of her choking.

It was a few moments after he had informed Bella that Alice was just pulling up outside, that the doorbell rang. Bella attempted to walk excruciatingly slowly to the door; but Alice was never one to be put off; Edward almost laughed at the face Bella pulled when Alice was suddenly behind her; having run around the back, full pace, and climbed in the open window of the kitchen.

However, he restrained himself. She still had the power to take off her ring after all.

_**Shall I carry this story on? What do you think? Reviews please? And let me know whether I should continue?**_

_**x x x x**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Summery: Edward had never tried to keep one paticular human alive in the past; but that didn't mean he hadn't made sure one hadn't died. Normal pairings (Who would change them?) Just a side story I came up with :D**_

_**Chapter Song: Faint - Linkin Park  
**_

_**Disclaimer: I always forget these things; but here goes: None of the charecters are 'mine' Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer (Genious? I THINK SO!), and I have taken 'Lottie Collin's daughter' (who is made up - and not her real daughter) and put her into the story because I know Lottie Collins died in 1910; which is where the story is based...other references are made to other famous people and bla di bla...nothing is mine; I'm just playing with it for a while.**_

_**I would also like to make clear that the name Gordon Jacob is absolutly no reference to Jacob from the Twilight Series; I merely picked on him to be in the story because he was a composer who lived through the late 18, and early 1900s.**_

_**Chapter 3: Hit the floor  
**_

_**London, 1910**_

Since he had seen her play the piano that Sunday when he had seen her play at the presentation, Edward had followed her. It had been three days so far; and she had a very repetative sceduled.

Each morning the girl would get up very early, eat breakfast, then take her music to a big house on the outskirts of town; in this house lived Gordon Jacob, her piano tutor. From the time she arrived there, usually around eight o clock, until lunchtime, around twelve o clock, he would tutor her non stop. Then, when the man went for lunch, she would go back home to drop off her things, before heading out to work.

The girl worked in a small resturant on the other side of town; the place was dingy, and smelled rank. Many people went there not to savour the food, but to drink beer, and wine, and get drunk. She would sit at the piano inside and play peices by request. She was paid mesely wages, and she had to sit there from about one o clock, until about seven o clock, when a big shot pianist came and took over. Edward had shallowed his breathing and gone in every day to make sure she was okay. Soon he would go and introduce himself to her again; she might have thought it odd if he'd suddenly become an avid patron of the place, after having only met him the day before. Although he had made it clear to her tutor on the Saturday, whilst standing next to the piano on which she was playing, that he was new in town.

He had, of course, also made his connections with Carlisle quite clear; which had made sure that he would be well respected in town. This also meant that he could say he was rich, which he almost was, because Carlisle was such a renowned doctor. No one would question him being in this resturant - they might all have been drunks, but they were all middle class drunks.

There was one man, however, who had caught Edward's interest. The man in question came in every night at five on the dot, and left at six sharp. Each night he just sat at the same table, barely moving, never talking. The only thing he ever did was listen. He listened to Mildred play piano every night for an hour; it was something, Edward had discovered, while rifaling around in his brain, that he loved to do more than anything.

The only other thing he did, Edward had noticed, was order a beer; the same every night. He never touched it, ever. He didn't even like alcohol, he felt that it just made women roudy, and men more roudy. He didn't like the taste either. Edward had also noted, with some disgust, that the bar maids also served his old beer to another patron later on in the night; it wasn't as if he had touched it, after all, was their reasoning.

The man's name was Benadict Theodore Oswel. Known to his friends as Ben. He was an attractive man; he was tall, and had long brown hair, which he kept tied up in a pony tail. He was twenty two, and a popular volinist. He was very musical, and he also played piano; several of his compositions were quite popular; although he himself was quite unknown - the way he liked it. He was quite a reserved man, with no time for disloyalty, or other undesirable traits. He also had an infactuation with a certain woman named Mildred Collins; better known as Milly. However, he had no idea how she felt for him, and he was too shy to voice his infatuation. He simply came every night to watch her play for an hour. His little taste of heaven.

Edward pitied the man; to be so infatuate with love, but to do nothing more than sit and listen to a few peices every night. Of course; he didn't have the wonderful ability of mind reading that Edward was graced with; although he told himself that he would realise the girl liked him, if he were Mr Oswel, even without the gift of mind reading.

When he entered the room, the girl would tense up, her peices got half a second faster; and her fingering got completely messed up; although he wouldn't know that unless he paid particularly close attention to her. Edward also had the advantage of having listened to her when he wasn't around. Benadict might have thought it was normal.

He watched Benadict walk out of the door at six that night, and decided that the next time he came to see her play he would give the man a little push.

Fate, however, had intervened.

As usual, that night, Edward had been following the girl; at seven, she had trekked back to her house, eaten dinner, and then let the maid off her duties for the night. She had then done something he had not seen her do before; she left a note for her father, and walked out of the house; skipping her practice time completely.

Snow had fallen once again that day, the streets appeared to be covered in cotton wool; the sort that Carlisle used in his surgery, but as she hurried through the streets, the bottom of her dress and cloak became soaked. She shivered with the cold.

_S__he was going to be late; she needed to hurry_

Is what her mind told Edward. But she was also excited; the feelings of excitement buzzed through her mind and into his; he himself was getting quite excited now; although he had no idea what about, so far, she hadn't acctually thought about what she was doing. He didn't want to take the effort of digging around in her mind to find out where she was going, so he decided instead to be surprised when she arrived; after all, he didn't get surprised very easily.

They were only a few corners from where she wanted to be when it happened. He suddenly got a glimpse of her in another mind; and caught her smell, far more overpowering than in his own mind. He didn't realise what had happened until a second too late.

"No!" he cried, jumping from the rooftop; it didn't matter if she saw him now; he crashed into the other vampire; throwing all of his weight against the man.

His target merely looked up at him with clouded eyes; Edward reached out and held him firm until the clouds were lifted. When the man came to, he looked at Edward with sad eyes for a moment, before he reached up and wiped the blood from his mouth. "We're not meant to protect", the man told him. In a moment, he was gone.

Edward turned around to the girl behind him. A scene of horror met his eyes. The girl's throat had been peirced by the vampire; her blood flowing over her cloak, and some spread across the snow from where she had been slashed, and where she had fallen. Her body lay at an odd angle, as if she had been dropped from high up; but she was breathing. He could hear her heartbeat; and it was getting faster. He could see in her veins the venom running through them, infecting her; working steadily towards her heart. The wound was close to it; it wouldn't take long for her to change.

He didn't think much after that; he couldn't. He closed off his breathing for the time being, so that he could get close enough to the her to hold her, without her blood tempting him too much. He pulled her into his arms and he started to run.

He had to get her to Carlisle.

_**Shall I carry this story on? What do you think? Reviews please? And let me know whether I should continue?**_

_**x x x x**_


End file.
